FONTANA, Calif. — Kasey Kahne had never thought about getting a tattoo until the past year, when he thought about doing something that would make him think about good times with his family.

Kahne, a 32-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver, fulfilled his mission Thursday as he had the initials RDP and KSK — the initials of his grandfathers Richard Peterson and Kenny Kahne, both now deceased — tattooed on the inside of his left arm.

Kasey Kahne wears his family memories on his arm. (Instagram Photo)

Kahne tweeted a photo Thursday evening.

"I just kind of enjoy the part of good memories, lots of memories, it's right there and something I will see all the time and think about those memories," Kahne said Friday after practice at Auto Club Speedway in California.

"I like what I did. … If it's meaningful and it's something that you want to do, then go for it."

Kahne, who won the March 17 Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway, said he didn't tell many people he was going to get a tattoo, and that his laser-focused crew chief Kenny Francis probably didn't even know he had gotten one.

Even one of his closest family members didn't know about Kahne's decision.

"I told my mom I got it after I got it," Kahne said. "I didn't really tell anyone else about it. I just kind of did it on my own quietly. … (My mom) actually really liked it. She thought it was pretty neat.

"I didn't know which direction she would go. She was pretty happy about it. She said it brought a little tear to her eye."

The tattoo was done by noted tattoo artist Tim Hendricks, who was part of the TLC reality show Miami Ink. Kahne said it took about 30 minutes and he had pain for about two hours.

He was never really into tattoos but over the last year, he said, "I've thought a lot about it and it was the only thing I wanted up to this point."

Teammate Jimmie Johnson joked that he almost got a tattoo once when he was a young Nationwide Series driver. And he's thankful he didn't.

"We went out with the guys and we ended up at a tattoo parlor and thankfully the guy sent me home and said to come back when I was sober," Johnson said. "I had a brilliant idea of 'WFO' tattooed on my right foot.

"I think we all know what 'WFO' stands for. I'm thankful that didn't go through and they sent me home."

While Kahne likely wouldn't get a WFO — wide (freaking) open — tattoo, he will consider getting more.